Machine for coiling and packaging strand material



March 26,, 1935. M. J. DEMPsEY El AL MACHINE FOR COILING AND PACKAGING STRAND MATERIAL Filed March 13, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet l MarchZG, 1935. M. J. DEMP SEY ET AL 1,995,498

MACHINE FOR COILING AND PACKAGING STRAND MATERIAL Filed March 15, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 26, 1935. M. J. DEMPSEY ET AL 1,995,498

MACHINE FOR COILING AND PACKAGING STRAND MATERIAL Filed March 13. 1935 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 March 26, 1935. M. J. DEMPSEY ET AL MACHINE FOR COILING AND PACKAGING STRAND MATERIAL Filed March 13, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Wmm Patented Mar. 26, 1935 f T f I v UNITED stars MACHINE FOR COELENG AND PACKAGING STRAND MATERIAL 1 Michael .li'. Dempsey and Frederick W. Roller, Waterbury, (Jenn, assignors to The Chase Companies, incorporated, Waterbury, 001111., a corporation nnniieatibn March 13, 1933, Serial No. 660,448

. 4. Claims. (01.242-82) This invention relates toanimprovement in ing, all as will more fully appear from the folmachines for coiling or packaging strand matelowing. 1 rial, and relates in particular to such machines In the accompanying drawings; primarily designed for coilingor packaging wire, Fig. 1 is a view mainly inside elevation and though not so limited. partlyin vertical section of one form which a 5 Wire, as ordinarily coiled or packaged, is either strand-coiling machne embodyng our invention wound upon reels or spools, o-r loosely coiled in m y a s m bundles, much in the manner in which rope is Fig. 2 is a t p 01' P1211 w thereof; 1 g Thislatter type coiling m Fig. 3 is a brokentransverse sectional view be aptly termed loose-coiling? in contra-distaken on the line 3-3 of Fig. lbut also showing 0 tiriction to the mode of coiling in which the coils the outer. guard-m mber of th strandceiv r are helically or spirally wound uniformly and invertical central section;

tightly aga nst each other. Y I Fig. 4 is a broken transversesectional view The present invention relates in particular to taken 1 t line i f machines for loose-coiling strands and is espei 5 is a broken detail seetiehalvview of the 15 cially adapted for loose-coiling soft metal wire S ra d-f eding member and a p r n f h or the like, as will appear from the following. inner guard-member of the strand-receiver, on Many different types of machines and'apparaa larg t i i tus have heretofore been devised in eiforts to pro- 6 is a, horizontal Sectionalv View taken o vide suitable means for the loose-coiling, of wire, the line 1 but on ala s r Scale; 20 i etc., but for various reasons, among whi h may Fig. '7 is a broken verticalcentral sectional view be mentioned tangling of the coils, kinking and taken on the l but on e larger stretching of the strands, etc, theresults have Scale;

been more or less indifferent d f ult Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken on One of the objects of the present invention is the line of v 25 to provide a superior machine for loose-coiling 9 is a w. p y inside v t n d strand material. partly in vertical central section of amodified Another bj t i w provide a i and form of combinedstrand-receiver and strandmethod of the class described by means of which feeder Constructed in accordance w th s nstrands may be readily, and conveniently loose- Ventien; and 30 coiled without tangling the coils or stretching or 10 is a cellespending V Of another form kinking the strand v r of strand-receiver useful in connection with the A further object of the present invention is to Present invention; J provide a reliable and eifective machine for coil- The particular strand-coiling machine herein ing or packaging strand material by m n of chosen for the illustration of the present inven- 35 which strands of soft mat rial, h as annealed tion includes as shown a rotatable strand-feeding brass wire, may be loose-coiled without harmful d or head zt' tethelewei' d o a distortion. tical drive-shaft 21 depending from a gear-box Other objects and advantages will appear to 2 Containing a ll t 8 SY m iOt ShOwn those skilled in the art from the following, t k in detail but interposed between the drive-shaft 40 in conjunction with the accompanying drawings 21 e the Shaft 23 Of electric motor 24 and the appended claims. transmit the power of the said motor, at reduced The present invention is the i-esn1t of long and sp d, t a head! The meter 24 and ass varied experiments, b means of which it has at d parts ar mounted up th upp r surfac been discovered that by providing a coil-receiver Of a pla f rm 25 pp bY ay n e St d-1 45.

mounted for rotation about an upstanding axis and 'orcolumn'26 upstanding f an integral and adapted to receive strands fromabove, in base-1 v combination with strand-feeding means posi-' The strand-feeding drum 20 before-referred to tioned above the said receiver, and rotating the is preferably formed with a crowned periphery said strand-receiver at a predetermined ratio of 28 inwhich is formed a shallow semi-circular an- 50 speed with respect to the speed of the said nular groove 29 in which the wire or other strand strand-feedingmeans, wire or other strand mamaterial 30 to be loose coiled is held by'an endterial, even though of low tensile strength, may less belt or strap-like holder 31 which snugly embe readilyloose-coiled or packaged with the minbraces slightly more than half of the periphery imum of stretching, distortion, kinking or snarlof thesaid drtun, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. The 55 forming a feature of a ring-like strand-receiver 39 preferably having an outer cylindrical guardmember 40 of sheet material spaced from the inner guard-member 38 to provide a ring-like chamber 41 for the reception of the strand material asthe same is coiled in a manner as will hereinafter appear. The upper edge of the outer guardmember 40 is preferably outwardly flared as at 42 and is preferably spaced from the inner guardmember to such a degree'asto be substantially as much larger than the diameter of the drum 20, as the inner guard-member is smaller than the same. By way of illustration of the preferred proportioning of the parts, let it be presumed that the drum 20 is of 14-inch diameter, in which case the outside diameter of the inner guard member 38 might be approximately 12 inches, in which case the internal diameter of the outer guard- :with outwardly-projecting ribs 57 through which suitable bolts 58 extend for uniting the parts into member 40 would preferably be 16 inches.

The strand-feeding drum 20 is also provided with an integral depending clutch-member 43 normally engaged witha complementary clutchmember 44 secured to the upper end of an upstanding shaft 45 coaxially arranged with respect to the drive-shaft 21 and having its upper end slightly tapered, as shown, for ready entry into an axial socket 46 formed in the clutch-member 43. The clutch-member 44 is preferably provided, as shown, with an annular centering-flange 47 which fits freely within a central perforation 48 formed in a webbing 49 inwardly projecting from the inner guard-member 38 and serves to prevent undue tiltingof the guard-member 38.

Adjacent its lower end the upstanding shaft 45 has keyed to it a rotary table 56 having a series of steps 51 on its upper surface for thereception respectively of various-sized coil-receivcarrying a radially-offsetting arm 52 correspondmg to but located diametrically opposite the arm- 52 just described. The rotary carrier 54 is, as

stated, of ring-like form and is diametrically split, as shown in Fig. 8, to facilitate'it's entrance into an annular groove 55 formed in the periphery of a vertically-reciprocating supporting-ring generally designated by the numeral 56. The sections of the-rotary carrier 54 are each formed a unitary structure.

The supporting-ring 56 is also diametrically split as shown'and the respective parts are each formed with ofisetting ears 59 through which suitable bolts 60 pass for uniting'the parts. As clearly shown in Fig. 8, the supporting-ring 56 is-formed internally at diametrically-opposite points respectively with vertical guide-grooves 60,

each of which engages and rides upon a vertical track-like boss 61 formed upon the standard 26.

Atdiametrically-opposite points the supporting-ring 56 is also formed with a pair of inwardly-extending coupling-lugs 62-62 respectively projecting inwardly into the interior of the standard 26 through clearance-openings 6363 therein. The respective inner ends of the coupling-lugs 6262 are suitably notched and engaged with a cross-head 64mounted upon the upper end of a vertically-movable supporting-rod 65 axially located within the standard 26, as shown in Fig. 7, and carrying at its lower end a piston 66 located within a cylinder 67 supported at its lower end upon a cross-pin 68 extending diametrically through the standard 26 adjacent the lower end thereof.

'As will appear from the foregoing, the rotary carrier 54 is mounted upon the supporting-ring 56 with capacity for rotary movement with respect thereto, which movement is facilitated by an annular series of ball bearings 69, while the supporting-ring 56 is mounted with capacity for vertical movement on the standard 26, so that the carrier 54 may have both rotary movement in a horizontal plane, and vertical movement for the purpose as will hereinafter appear.

The cylinder 67 is supplied with compressed.

air through a pipe '70 leading to a control-valve 71 which is supplied with compressed air through a feed-pipe 73. The control-valve 71 may be of any approved type, but as shown it is provided with an oscillating operating-handle 74 having a' depending cam 75 engageable with a roller '76 mounted in the upper end of a vertical safetyplunger 77 which is mounted for reciprocation in a lug '78 offsetting from the standard 26 and is encirc'ledby a helical spring 79 exerting a constant effort to move the said plunger upward. The lower end of the safety-plunger 77 is adapted to enter one or the other of two diametrically-opposite vertical sockets 80 formed in the upper surface of the rotary carrier 54 when the said carrier is in position to align the shaft 45 or a corresponding'shaft 45 with the drivesh-aft 21, as will more fully hereinafter appear.

It may be here stated that the arm 52 of the rotary carrier 54 is of the same character as the arm 52 and, like the same, carries a rotary table 50 anupstanding shaft 45*, and a clutchmember 44 etcL, and is adapted to mount, with capacity for rotation, a strand-receiver similar tothe'strand-receiver 39 shown as mounted upon the table 50. When occasion requires, the carrier may be rotated to align the shaft 45 with the shaft 21, as'will later appear.

For the purpose of leading the wire or other strand-material 30 to the strand-feeding drum 20 from any convenient source of supply, we employ, in the particular machine herein illustrated, two complementary horizontally-arranged idler-rolls 81 and 82 and a vertically arranged idler-roll 83 all carried by the platform 25". The wire 30, in its course to the ma chine for being loose-coiled, first passes over the idler-roll 81, thence over the idlers 82 and 83 and into the groove 29 in the drum 20, and

thence downwardly through a gap A located between the idl'er-rolls 32 and 35 around which the belt-like holder 31 is reversely turned, as clearly shown 6. Shortly after engaging with the drum 20, the strand 30' also engages withthe inner reach of the belt-like holder 31 so as to be firmly held in the groove 29 for a distance slightly in excess of half the length thereof, and is released from the 'said'drum at a point in the gap-A adjacent the said idlerroll 32-. After being released, as described, the strand or wire sags downwardly by gravity in steep-pitched helical coils 84 (Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 6) around the periphery of the inner guardfnember 38; As the coils reach the bottom of the strand-receiver 39-, they straighten out into a horizontal plane and distributethems'elves unifcrmly in the space 41 between the inner and outer guard-members 38 and 40.

Prefer-ably, as already p'ointedout, the diameter of the drum '20 is larger than the external diameter of the inner guard-member 33 and smaller than the internal diameter of the outer guard 'member to such a degree as to be equal in diameter to the mean diameter of the space 41 between the said guard-members. The guard-members 38 and 40 respectively determine the inside and outside diameters of the coil being formed, and when, as above stated, the diameter of the drum 20 is equal to the mean diameter of the space 41 and hence equal to the mean diameter of the coil being formed, the wire or other strand material will uniformly distribute itself within the receiver 39 without any undue piling-up at any given point and without either tightly gripping the inner guardmember 38 or looping outside of the outer guardmember 40.

When a given strand-receiver has received the desired amount of wire or the like, the same may be disconnected from the drum 20 by swinging the lever-handle '74 of the control-valve 71 into its 01f position. This movement of the valve will relieve the air pressure'from under the piston 66 to thus permit the supportingring 56, the rotary carrier 54 and associated parts to move downwardly into the position indicated by broken lines in Fig. 1. The movement of the lever-handle '74 as just described also swings the cam '75 into a clearance position and permits the safety-plunger '77 to rise under the urge of its spring '79 so as to be entirely removed from the particular one of the sockets in the carrier 54 with which it has been engaged, when the carrier is inits depressed position. The dropping of the carrier 54 also serves to disengage the inner guard-member 38 from the locating-flange 3'7 of the drum.20 and to disengage the clutch-member 44 from the clutch-member 43 so that the entire carrier 54 is free for rotation in a horizontal plane. Now by manually swinging the carrier 54, the arm 52 and the strand-receiver carried thereby may be swung out of line with the drum 20 and the arm 52 may be swung into registration therewith after having been provided with a suitable strand-receiver, if desired.

When a fresh strand-receiver is aligned with the drum 20, the entire carrier 54 may be elevated to couple the strand-receiver to the said drum by swinging the hand-lever '74 of the control-valve 71 back into its on? position, so as to permit compressed air or other fluid to enter the cylinder 6'7 and thus raise the parts as described. This lifting of the carrier 54, however, cannot take place prior to the actual positioning of the fresh strand-receiver beneath the-drum 20, owing to the fact that the conrol-valve 71 cannot be thrust into its "on position until one of the sockets 80 in the carrier has been aligned with the safety-plunger '77, so that the same may be depressed thereinto.

If desired, the loose-coiling of the wire may take any special guard-member's, though we have found that by providing inner and outer guardmembers such as 33 and 40, both the internal and external diameters of the bundle of wire or the like being coiled, may be regulated within'de-- sired limits. The main factors in the success of the present invention reside in providu'ng a r0 tary strand-receiver rotating around an upstandmeans and of such character as may have place directly upon a table such asSO without strand material fed to it from above by suitable; strand-feeding means, such, for instance, as the strand-feeding drum 20 herein shown and described. The strand-feeding drum, coaxially arranged with respect to the upstanding axis about which the strand-receiverrotates, is much to be preferred, inasmuch as the'strand material being coiled has imparted to it a curvature which causes it to more readily settle in loose coils, without undue spreading. Preferably, also; the rateof speed at which the strand material is fed to the revolving strand-receiver corresponds as near as feasible to the mean circular speed of the coil being formed, which in the present instancelies member 38 and the inside member40.

38 and 40 and the strand-feedingdrum may be formed integrally with the inner guard-member 38, such, for instance, as at 85.

The strand-receivers 39 may be used over and over again, and if desired the wire may be shipped therein. When it is desired to ship the coils or bundles of strand material to consumers in the strand-receivers, the inner guard-member 38 of the receiver 39 is preferably made shorter, as shown in Fig. 10, to conform to an outer guardmember 40* so that a ring-like cover 86 may be applied opposite the bottom, and the coil of wire conveniently shipped.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics offlthe invention, and the present embodiments are,-therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

We claim:.

1. A machine for loose-coiling strand material, including: a strand-receiver mounted for both rotation and reciprocation about an upstanding axis and adapted to receive strand material from above; a rotary strand-feeding drum mounted substantially coaxially with respect to the said strand-receiver in position to. deliver strand material thereto by gravity; means for rotating the said strand-feeding drum; and axially-separable coupling means for coupling the said strand-receiver to the said drum for being rotated concurrently therewith.

2. A machine for loose-coiling strand material, including: a rotary carrier mounted for rotation in substantially a horizontal plane and for reciprocation in a substantially-vertical plane; a strand-receiver eccentrically carried by the said carrier with capacity for rotationwith respect thereto about an upstanding axis; a rotary strandfeeding drum mounted for rotation about an uppling the said strand-receiver to the said drum for being rotated concurrently therewith.

3. A machine for loose-coiling strand material, including; a strand-receiver mounted for rotation about an upstanding axis and adapted to receive strand material from above; strand-feeding means positioned above the said strand-receiver and including a rotary strand-feeding drum having a peripheral groove therein for the reception of the strand'material, and pressuremeans cooperating with the said strand-feeding drum and acting to press the strand material into the annular groove therein, the said pressure-means providing a gap where the groove in the strand-feeding drum is left uncovered to permit the downward helical escape of the strand material into the said strand-receiver; and means for rotating the said strand-receiver and the said strand-feeding drum simultaneously and at definite timed relationship.

4. A machine for loose-coiling strand material,

including: a strand-receiver mounted for rotation about an upstanding axis and. adapted to receive strand material from above; strand-feeding means positioned above the said strand-receiver and including a rotary strand-feeding drum having a peripheral groove therein for the reception of the strand material, and an endless belt positioned to press the strand material into the groove in the said strand-feeding drum and arranged with respect to the latter to leave uncovered a portion of the groove in the said drum, to thereby permit the downward escape in a helical path of the strand material from the said groove and into the saidstrand-receiver; and means for rotating the said strand-receiver and the said strand-feeding drum simultaneously and at definite timed relationship.

MICHAEL J. DEMPSEY.

FREDERICK w. REHER. 2O 

